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Suikoden I Soul Eater Light Novel Translation - Chapter 21!

For your reading pleasure and enjoyment, below the cut is the full rough English translation of chapter 21 of the official 1998 Suikoden I Soul Eater novel (volume 2 of 3). Individual page translations and original Japanese text can be found in the chapter 21 tag. As always, feedback on translations is welcome. This wraps up volume 2! Now on to the final volume 3. Thank you so much to everyone for your support and your comments. They keep me going! Eventually I want to run a Kickstarter to officially license and print these books!

Chapter 21: The Soul Eater

Tir rushed to the forefront of the battle. In the center of the melee, Teo fought on, covered in gore. Only a few members of his unit remained. Alen and Grenseal were at his side, having already lost all of their men. They fought against Flik and the others, who were frantically urging their own troops to battle.

Tir pushed his way through the crowd of fighters. Kai and Varkas’ foot soldiers moved around behind Teo and cut off his escape route. He was isolated from the rest of his troops, but still he continued to fight. Even as his allies fell one by one, he swung his sword like a demon, cutting down the Liberation Army soldiers in droves. The area around Teo was splattered with blood, the air filled with screams. He was a one man army.

The Liberation Army troops began to falter in the face of this onslaught. Like the tug of the tide, the soldiers pulled back, warily surrounding Teo and his two subordinates from a distance. In what seemed no time at all, Tir stood alone in front of the great general. Teo gazed at him. “You...”

“Lord Teo McDohl!” A voice called out from behind Tir. Mathiu came galloping up to the soldiers, who had fallen as still and silent as corpses already in their graves. The tactician drew up beside Tir and brought his horse to a halt. “Lord Teo McDohl...” he said again. “Your army has been destroyed. We have decimated your ‘invincible’ armored cavalry as well as your main unit. Please accept your defeat and surrender gracefully.”

Teo lowered his sword. “And you must be... ”

“I am Mathiu Silverberg. I previously served as Lord Kasim Hazil’s tactician.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” shouted Alen, moving in front of Teo and brandishing his sword. “Like hell we’ll surrender! We’ll fight to the last man!”

Grenseal stepped forward as well, his sword at the ready. “I am prepared to give my life for the Empire. For Lord Teo.”

Seeing them ready to fight, Viktor and the others readied their weapons, too. But Teo motioned to Alen and Grenseal to stand down and moved his horse forward so he was directly in front of Mathiu. “I refuse. I am a proud general of the Empire and I serve Emperor Barbarossa. We have no intention of surrendering.” Staring straight at Mathiu, he continued. “You should be ashamed. You took the Empire’s money gladly enough when you served under Kasim Hazil, and yet now you command the Liberation Army.” Mathiu kept quiet with visible effort.

Teo’s gaze slid from Mathiu to Tir, and he pointed his sword at his son. “You may have brought down our army, but you have not defeated me. Tir McDohl! The greatest turncoat under the heavens, who turned traitor and rose up against his own emperor he once served—I challenge you to single combat. And you will accept.”

Shocked, Tir was at a loss for words. It was only then he realized that he had caught Teo in an inescapable dilemma.

The man who stands in front of me now is not my father, Teo. He is General Teo McDohl, in service to the Golden Emperor Barbarossa.

General Teo, who fought to the bitter end in the Succession War, who would not hesitate to die for his emperor. He is a warrior who would gladly choose death over the disgrace of surrender. This war will not end without one of our deaths.

Staring at Tir, who still stood in silence, Teo spoke again, his voice harsh. “What’s the matter, cold feet? Or are your personal emotions getting in the way of what you need to do as the leader of the Liberation Army? Did such naive thinking allow you to take the lives of our Imperial soldiers? Don’t make me laugh!”

“Gh...” Biting his lip, Tir gripped his staff.

If my father stands in my way as General Teo, then... I only have one choice.

“Lord Tir, please do not take part in this foolishness!” shouted Mathiu, seeing Tir ready to leap into action. “Viktor! Take down General Teo!”

Viktor hesitated at Mathiu’s sudden order. He looked to Tir and, at a small nod from him, moved his unit back. Flik’s unit moved back next. Then Humphrey, Kai, and Varkas’ units. The soldiers ringed around them, forming a gaping circle.

Teo, too, motioned to Alen and Grenseal to move back, creating their own circle. At the center of that circle, he dismounted his horse. Tir stared at Teo, who cut a majestic and imposing figure even surrounded on all sides by an enemy army. Quietly, he said to Mathiu, “Please, Mathiu... step back.”

“But, Lord Tir...” his tactician protested.

“It’s okay, Mathiu. I won’t lose. I’ll win, for everyone’s sake. Please. Believe in me.”

Mathiu was silent. Looking down, he moved his horse back.

“Thank you, Mathiu.” Holding his staff tight, Tir got off his horse and stepped forward to stand in front of Teo.

Right now, I am no longer Teo’s son, Tir. I am Tir McDohl, leader of the Liberation Army.

----

“Ryaaah!” Teo rushed out with all the force of a furious gale. Undaunted, Tir also leapt forward.

CRACK!

They clashed with enough force to shatter their weapons. Teo wielded his sword with lightning speed. Tir deflected it with his staff.

He exchanged a flurry of blows with Teo, surprised at the weight of the sword behind each attack. He parried the blow each time, but the blade bit into his staff more than he had expected it to. The shock of the impact was transmitted along the length of the rod. If he made a single wrong move, it would be sheared completely in half.

“Yah!” In the moments between Teo’s attack, Tir whipped out with his staff to attack as well. But Teo blocked each one with ease. He wasn’t called ‘The Invincible General’ for nothing. As they fought, Tir realized just how strong a warrior Teo really was.

“Graah!”

Teo slashed with his sword again, catching Tir off guard. He blocked the edge of the blade with this staff. The blade grazed his forehead and he shivered, chilled. Then Teo lunged again with his blade, this time aiming for Tir’s side. Flustered, Tir blocked that, too. He was only on the defensive.

Just as he began to wonder whether he could ever defeat Teo, suddenly... In the break between the swoosh of Teo’s sword slashing by, Tir thought he heard a little voice cheering him on. “You can do it, Tir!”

Who was that?

Perhaps it was Viktor.

Maybe it was Cleo.

Or else that was Gremio, Odessa, and Ted’s voices...

The moment he thought of their faces, emotion welled in his breast.

They’re the reason I’m fighting so hard.

“Yaaaaah!” Tir moved into the offensive. He no longer thought of anything. For their sake, for himself, he aimed his staff at the man standing in front of him.

Every time his staff struck Teo’s armor, it was as if he was smashing away at the sorrow that filled his soul. Every time Teo’s sword pushed back at him, it was as if the dam gates of that sadness burst open and flooded his heart anew.

Teo looked as though he was thinking along similar lines. “For His Majesty!” he roared, glaring at Tir. “I will destroy you!” He wielded his sword with vigor once again. They fought fiercely for a time. Forgetting the fact that Teo was his father. Giving up on the fact that Tir was his son. There was nothing between them but the violent exchange of blows.

All the generals and all their soldiers held their breath as they watched this fight unfold. But before long, it became obvious who the victor would be. Teo fought like a wild beast, gradually driving Tir back. He counterattacked as best he could, but Tir had to retreat bit by bit, until he stood directly in front of the soldiers.

I’ve got to do something...

Clenching his jaw hard, Tir grunted, steeling himself. He put everything he had into this one strike against Teo. “Hah!”

He put it all on the line—if this failed, there would be no second chances. But Teo dodged his blow. Tir was left wide open.

Teo readied his sword. “This is farewell, son!” he yelled. The image of Teo raising his sword high overhead reflected in Tir’s pupils, his eyes open wide in fear.

That was when he saw it.

Teo had just called him son. Perhaps it had been meant as one final, parting kindness. But that kindness signaled both a weakening of Teo’s heart and a weakening of his defenses.

And Tir caught it. Teo’s left side was wide open.

Only a handful of days ago, Kai had taught him about the weak points on that side of the body. One hit to that vital spot could be a killing blow.

“Uwaaah!” cried Tir, squeezing his eyes closed tight. In the darkness, Tir gripped his staff tight and swung it at Teo.

ーーー

Something heavy hit the earth with a thud.

Tir heard the sound, his eyes still shut, the shock of the impact still reverberating through his arms. He was surrounded on all sides by the cheers of the soldiers, but it was just meaningless background noise. He slowly opened his eyes.

His father, his glittering armor, his sword... all lay quietly on the ground, atop the grass soaked in the blood of soldiers.

“Father... father!” He threw down his staff and rushed over to Teo’s side.

Alan and Grenseal dashed over, too. “Lord Teo!”

Cleo, Flik, and Viktor also ran to them. “Lord Teo!”

“Father!” Among everyone’s cries, Teo quietly opened his eyes and stared up at Tir, his eyes filled with kindness. “Tir... you’ve grown... so strong...”

The moment he heard those words, the tears brimming in Tir’s eyes spilled over and fell. The man in front of him was no longer General Teo. He was Teo, Tir’s father. “Father...”

“Tir... what are you crying for? Haven’t I always told you... boys don’t cry? Whatever happens... you grit your teeth... and bear it. You really have... gotten so much stronger...”

Looking at Tir, overcome with tears, Teo smiled. It was, without a doubt, the smile of a father gazing at his son. His benevolent, brave smile soon turned to a grimace of pain as his breathing grew ragged. But Teo opened his mouth and, impossibly, laughed. “It is when we fight... that men grow strong. Tir... I just want to... say this one... last thing to you...”

“What is it, father?”

“I knew you had joined the Liberation Army. I know why you did it, how you were driven out of the capital... and that it was all on false charges...”

“What...?” Tir was kneeling by his father’s side, his eyes shut. But no matter how tightly he closed his eyes, it didn’t stop the tears from leaking out. “Father, why...? If you knew of all the horrible things the Empire is doing now, then how could you still support them?”

“You understand why... better than anyone, don’t you?”

Something brushed Tir’s face softly. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Teo’s hand outstretched, wiping away his tears.

“I live for what I believe in. I fight for what I believe in. That’s all. just like how you fight for the Liberation Army, Tir...”

Tir put his hand over his father’s hand, the hand that had so lovingly caressed his cheek. “I understand, father.”

“This is where... my fight ends. I have no regrets. Tir. You live for what you believe in, too. Do that, and you’ll always have my blessing. Because this is the path you have chosen, my son...”

“Father...” As Teo’s voice grew weaker, Tir squeezed his hand harder. His father’s big, warm hands. The same hands and arms that had held him as a child.

But these hands that had supported Tir had also supported the Empire. Now they were smeared with the battlefield’s muck and the blood that had poured from the soldiers. Tir’s tears fell on his father’s hand again.

“Lord Teo! Hold on, please!” shouted Cleo.

His gaze quietly shifted to her. “Cleo... please... keep watching over Tir... for me...”

“Of course I will, Lord Teo...” Tears spilled from her eyes.

Teo was wracked with a violent cough. He looked to his two right-hand men. “Alan, Grenseal...”

“We’re here, Lord Teo.”

“I have a request... for both of you...”

“What is it, my Lord?” asked Grenseal.

“No one can stop the flow of time... I fought for His Majesty, I fought for the man himself... not for the title. I was being stubborn. But you two don’t have to be. I want you to join the Liberation Army, to help Tir. For your own sake, as well...”

“Gh...” The two commanders dropped to their knees beside Tir.

The Liberation Army soldiers also quieted down, like an ocean growing calm. It was as if they were honoring Teo’s passing; the death of an enemy general who, even when it was down to just him alone, did not run but fought to the end.

“Father…”

“Tir… my son… don’t shed any more tears.” He squeezed Tir’s hand weakly once more. “I am happy. For a father, getting to see the moment... when his son surpasses him... is the greatest joy...”

Teo’s hand lost its grip.

“Father! No!” howled Tir. “You can’t die!”

But Teo’s eyes stayed shut.

“Keep fighting... my beloved... son.”

“Father...! Father!”

Tir held Teo tight. Heedless of the gore-spattered armor smearing red across his cheeks, Tir rocked his father’s body back and forth. But Teo did not stir.

“Father…” Tir called out once more, weakly.

Suddenly, something strange happened to his body. A dazzling light shone from the back of his right hand, even through the leather glove he wore. “What the—?”

He felt a searing pain, as if the back of his hand were on fire. The pain shot up to his elbow, his shoulder, his chest—soon it enveloped his whole body.

He didn’t even have time to cry out. He collapsed on top of Teo and lost consciousness.

ーーー

Voices reverberated in the dark.

What in the world happened to Lord Tir?

I don’t know... a light suddenly shot out of the back of his right hand...

Half in and out of fuzzy consciousness, he listened to the conversation. One speaker was elderly, while the other, uneasy voice belonged to a young woman. As Tir fought to stop the darkness surrounding him on all sides from swooping in again, the conversation went on.

Well, no need to worry. What the lad needs now is some good rest.

Thank you, Master Liukan.

Tir finally regained consciousness. The elderly voice belonged to Liukan, and the young woman was probably Cleo.

“Urgh...” Tir groaned. He heard the light pitter-patter of feet as someone came over to him.

“Lord Tir, please don’t push yourself.” Cleo drew close and looked into Tir’s eyes, her expression worried.

“Cleo... where are we...?”

“We’re in your room in the castle, Lord Tir.”

“When did I...” Tir tried to move, but his limbs refused to listen to him. His body felt as heavy as lead. “Ugh...”

“You mustn't move yet!” Flustered, Cleo held Tir’s shoulders and tucked him back into the bed. “You collapsed on the battlefield. We carried you here. You’ve been asleep the whole time. I didn’t know what to think for a while there...” She sighed. “But it’s all okay now. Don’t push yourself. Just focus on resting up and recovering.”

“Thank you, Cleo...” Tir sighed, too. He craned his neck to see out the window. The sun was already sinking, the sky glowing with sunset. “Cleo...”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but could you let me be alone for a while?”

“Of course,” she said, after a slight hesitation. “I’ll be in the corridor, so if you need me, just ring this bell.” She placed the small bell beside Tir’s pillow and left the room.

The door snicked shut. Tir stared at it for a moment, then let out a big sigh.

How did it come to this?

He gazed up at the sooty ceiling and thought back over everything that had happened, all of their battles.

It all started with becoming leader of the Liberation Army. The Great Forest, the Garan Checkpoint... Those battles were difficult, but we kept winning. We were defeated at Scarletia Castle, but with Liukan’s help we were eventually able to bring it down.

Teo’s army crushed our forces, too, but with the fire spears and Kun To’s lake pirates we were even able to defeat the armored cavalry units, said to be the strongest in the Empire.

Their allies grew by the day, and the momentum of the Liberation Army was boundless. However, seemingly in direct proportion to that momentum, Tir had suffered losses one after the other.

Gremio. Then my father. You could dismiss it all as “fate”, but...

Tir sighed again and the sheets rustled as he lifted his hands. His right hand still felt like lead. He placed it on his chest. His left hand lay on top of the blanket. He put his right hand over his left, the right still clad in its leather glove.

Since Tir had parted ways with Ted, he had almost never gone without his glove. He was afraid of the Soul Eater Rune and its powers. Looking at it never failed to remind him of Ted. But now, he couldn’t help but take off the glove.

Odessa’s death had been the first. Whenever someone important to him died, the back of his right hand felt weird. He hadn’t noticed it so strongly when Odessa had died, but with Gremio he had felt a burning pain, and when his father died, the back of his hand had begun to glow.

Just what secrets does this rune hold...?

Tir slowly took off his glove. He turned his hand around to look at the back, afraid of what he would see there.

When he had gotten the Soul Eater from Ted, he was sure it had been black. Now it seemed to emit a faint glow. He felt a deep uneasiness steal into his heart.

“Tir...” In the empty room, a woman’s gentle voice called out his name softly.

“Lady Leknaat.” At Tir’s reply, a dazzling light scattered about the room. The lights gathered together into one point in the middle of the room and gradually took on human shape, eventually resolving into the form of Lady Leknaat herself.

“Tir...” Lady Leknaat murmured his name again as she walked over to his bed. “I watched over your battle from afar. You fought well. Both you and your father.”

As she spoke, Leknaat held her hand to Tir’s forehead. Little sparks of light spilled from the palm of her hand, like countless stars in the night sky. His body, which had felt so heavy, began to feel a little lighter.

“What in the world did you just do?”

Leknaat smiled at the wonder in Tir’s voice. “That is the power of my rune.” She touched Tir’s body gently, moving her hand down to grasp his own. His right hand lay atop the blanket, his rune laid bare. “The Soul Eater... I sense a strong power in this rune. It is what has caused your body to grow so unbalanced. I have restrained its power slightly, so all will be well. You will be back to normal in a little while.”

“Lady Leknaat...” Unable to bear it any longer, he finally asked. “What is the Soul Eater? Ever since I received this rune from Ted, I’ve lost so many people I love. And when they pass away, this rune... aches. Please tell me... what does it mean, Lady Leknaat?”

“Tir...” Grasping the Soul Eater tightly in her hand, Leknaat spoke. “It seems the time has come to speak to you.”

“To speak to me? About what?”

“About me, and about my older sister, Windy. And why she is so bent on obtaining this rune...”

Tir said nothing, staring at her. For he had long harbored doubts about this as well.

Leknaat was silent for a moment, then began her story. “My sister Windy and I are the last remaining members of the Gate Rune Clan. Long ago, our relatives were massacred at the hands of the Holy Harmonia Empire, which lays in the far north. All because the Harmonian Empire coveted the power of our runes.”

“That’s awful...”

“I think Windy’s actions may be due to the grudge she bears. The “front” half of the Gate Rune my sister bears is not enough for her. She also covets the “back” half that I possess in order to obtain a full true rune and all the power it grants.”

“You mean, Windy...?”

“Yes. She plans to use a true rune to exact her revenge. Since I shut myself away in my Magician’s Tower and erected a barrier all around it, my sister has been scouring the world for other True Runes scattered around the world. And what she found... was the Soul Eater.”

“I see.”

“However, Tir...” Leknaat let go of the Soul Eater. “The power of true runes is too great a thing for humans to bear. If my sister obtains two true runes and uses that power to enact her revenge, it may bring calamity upon the world. But you, Tir... you can stop her.”

Tir propped himself up, gazing at the Soul Eater.

Leknaat went on. “It is no easy task, for you must wage war on two fronts. One is your battle against the Empire, and the other is with my sister. But as far as I can see, this battle has only one conclusion.”

Leknaat took one step backward, then turned toward Tir and smiled. “Tir... I have pointed you toward the right path.” As Leknaat spoke those words, she once again scattered into lights around his chambers.

“Wait, please!” Tir clambered out of bed unsteadily and stumbled toward Leknaat. “Please tell me... just what is the Soul Eater? What kind of power hides within it? If I don’t know that, I can’t...”

“Tir...” Leknaat’s voice floated back to him from within the light. “What did Ted tell you about the rune?”

Tir thought back to what Ted had said, and tried to quote him word for word. “He said that the Soul Eater is a cursed rune...”

“That may be so. I’m sorry, Tir, but I do not know any more than that myself.” Even as she answered, Leknaat’s body was further enveloped in light. The light she emitted was dazzling.

“But, Lady Leknaat—!”

“Tir. You will be able to control the Soul Eater’s power. Just remember, you must never lose hope.”

“Lady Leknaat!”

Even as Tir called out, the light disappeared.

Lady Leknaat was nowhere to be seen.

[ VOLUME 2 ★ END ]

***

お疲れ様でした！！！ヽ(^o^)丿

*** Table of Contents

★ Chapters 0-1 ★ Chapters 2-3 ★ Chapters 4-5 ★ Chapters 6-7 ★ Chapters 8-9 ★ Chapters 10-11 ★ Chapters 12-13 ★ Chapters 14-15 ★ Chapters 16-17 ★ Chapters 18-19 ★ Chapter 20

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#Suikoden #Soul Eater #Chapter 21 #Light novel #translation #English #I really enjoyed translating the scene with Leknaat #What were your favorite scenes in volume 2??

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